The School Budget

Honestly, I know what you're thinking. The school budget is the last thing you want to hear about. Right now you're probably yawning and clicking on over to another page. And yes, I promised that this post would be happier, but that might have to wait til next time. I'll try to make this as super-exciting as possible :)

So you've probably heard about all the budget cuts projected for next school year. The one that will probably affect us students the most is "pay-to-participate." Next year, it will cost a student $200 for each sport they play, and $200 to participate in the theater program for the year. The lame excuse of a school board claims that this does not cover the entire cost, that one sport per student actually costs them $800. They say nothing about theater there.

As you may or may not know, I entered the theater dept. as a costume designer for this year's musical, Anything Goes, and hope to be in at least one of the shows next year. More on that fabulous experience later. (I guess you could say I'm a wannabe theater kid). Our fearless costume leader, Mrs. W, brought up a great point when she took us out for a thank-you dinner last week. It doesn't cost the school anything for a student to participate in theater, so why should we have to pay? Sure, there are costs in putting on a production. For one, you have to buy the rights to a show, which is hardly cheap. You also have to print posters, playbills, and t-shirts. But when people come to see the show, they pay. Tickets are $12 each, the auditorium seats 600, and the musical puts on five shows, the fall play three. We also sell concessions, flowers, and merchandise. You do the math, I'm too lazy. My point is, theater brings in a lot of $$$, enough to cover the cost and still make a profit, and also entertain the community of Bores-town. Mrs. W thinks they're only implementing this theater fee to make it "even" with the sports fee, basically so people won't complain.

Another thing is the cutting of many school programs. Maybe you heard that they're cutting the middle school FCS, Industrial Tech., and Careers classes. We all have memories of those classes, personally they were some of my favorites in 8th grade. At last Tuesday's school budget meeting, Mrs. Greene, the FCS teacher, gave a really long and powerful speech in which she explained how the family and consumer science program benefits students and teaches them valuable life skills, while pretty much begging for her job. She got a standing ovation, but the school board seemed unfazed.

If you speak out, maybe they will revise these cuts, saving not only our bank accounts but the jobs of 31 district staff members. It's not unheard of, it's happened before, but only if there are enough unhappy people.

Here's an example of how it all ties in to our lives (specifically mine, as this is my blog): Mrs. Greene's class taught me how to sew. If I hadn't acquired this skill, I would have never joined the costume crew, which was the most enjoyable experience of this school year (more on that later). And hey, Anything Goes wouldn't have been such a well-dressed show!

Please, I beg you, visit mtps.com. There you will find more information on the budget, and you will be able to post comments on how you feel about all this. Together, we can make a difference, because the more of us there are, the louder our voice is. Like the teachers and their red protest shirts: Solidarity, people! Fight for what is right!!!

My rant is complete. Thank you for your tolerance.